Italy opens murder and manslaughter case after superyacht sinking

"We have opened an investigation against unknown persons on charges of manslaughter and culpable homicide," prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio told a news conference in the Sicilian town of Termini Imerese on Saturday morning.

The previous Monday the Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of Porticello, a small town on the coast near Sicily's capital Palermo.

Seven of the 22 people on board lost their lives in the shipwreck, among them British technology magnate Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah.

Cartosio confirmed the start of the investigation, but said no suspects had been identified at the moment.

"We are only in the initial phase of the investigation. At the moment we cannot rule out any kind of development," Cartosio said. He went on to say that his team will carefully assess every possible element of liability, including those of the ship's captain, crew, supervisors, the ship's builder and others.

"For me, it is likely that crimes were committed, that it could be a case of manslaughter, but we will only be able to establish that if you give us time to investigate," he said, explaining that the crew members will be allowed to leave Sicily but may be re-investigated.

The main issue investigators are focusing on is how a sailing ship deemed 'unsinkable' by its builder, the Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while a neighbouring sailboat was essentially unharmed.

Prosecutors said the event was 'extremely rapid' and the information acquired seemed to indicate a 'downburst', a localised and powerful wind that descends from a thunderstorm and spreads rapidly once it hits the ground.**

Initially, Civil Defence officials said they believed the yacht, which had a distinctive 75-metre aluminium mast, had been hit by a tornado on the